


More Precious Than Latinum

by obviouslyelementary



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: DS9 crew - Freeform, Family, Family Feels, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Nog is almost a cadet, Post-Season3Episode25, Quark has a heart, Rom is cute, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26074969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obviouslyelementary/pseuds/obviouslyelementary
Summary: At the very least, Quark knew he had some real friends.And that someone would take care of Nog while he was away.
Relationships: Quark & Benjamin Sisko, Quark & DS9 Crew, Quark & Nog, Quark & Rom
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	More Precious Than Latinum

**Author's Note:**

> Hmmmmm I love Rom and Nog and Quark was an idiot but he will redeem himself.

It was a sight to be seen. No one in the whole Alpha Quadrant had ever seen a Ferengi so happy in their entire lives, not even when they made the best deal of the century. No, it was way happier, brighter than that. Rom seemed to glow with happiness, and honestly, Nog wasn't far behind. Even the Ferengi employees were content, working better, double shift, faster than ever. The only true dark cloud in the whole celebration was, of course, Quark.

For everyone that looked at him, it seemed as if he was hating every part of this whole celebration, which in itself was not true. No, seeing his nephew, the boy he raised next to his brother, the one he assumed would gain everything he ever won in his own life, seeing him happy was wonderful. It brought warmth to Quark's heart in a way that not even the biggest pile of latinum or the prettiest fe-male in the universe could. He was so young, naïve and sweet, sweet like his father room, sweet like his grandfather Kelnar. He didn't have the lobes for business, he would never be a successful ferengi even if he tried real hard. But Quark wasn't going to let him try hard, he was going to gather all he could and give it to him, freely, no charge.

But now, well, all of that was to waste. He wouldn't gain anything when Quark died, because he wanted to be a Federation officer, and once he achieved his goals, Ferenginar would probably cut all contact with the boy as possible. He would be chastised whenever he visited his old planet, if he ever did, and he would be seen as a traitor to all ferengis he could encounter during his travels.

Nog would suffer, like he and Rom did when they were young, for their mother's wrong ways. But this time, Nog would have no one to blame but himself. He would always be an outcast, he would never belong, and no matter how hard Quark tried to make their family good in the eyes of all Ferengis, he would never achieve his goal anymore. The moment the Nagus and his followers learned that his own nephew was going to betray the ways of the Commerce, he was ruined.

It was terrible, awful even. But the boy's sweet smile didn't leave his head for a second.

Stupid as he was, Rom organized parties after parties the moment Nog was accepted to take the test. He had only passed the first of possibly thousands of steps towards Star Fleet, and Rom was celebrating as if he was captain already. Although Quark didn't have a heart to stop him, not after what his brother had told him. The words still echoed in his head: _'My son's happiness is more important than latinum! Remember that, brother!'_. It was like a knife to his heart, and yet, he couldn't help but understand. Moogie had not been wrong, Rom was much like their father.

And Quark, well, the more he looked at it, the more he realized he was the wrong one in the family.

He told Rom he would be taking all the drinks that people ordered in the party from his salary, and instead of becoming upset, Rom agreed with him with a grin, as if he was doing everyone a favor. He probably was, but not himself. And Quark did take the latinum bars from his brother's salary, but it didn't seem the right thing to do. Maybe the others aboard the station were rubbing off on him too much, making him soft, making him care about other things rather than profit.

May the ancient merchants never listen to his words.

As he cleaned the bar for the fourth time that week, he sighed to himself, wiping the classes. Another night without profit, another night with his brother and nephew smiling and laughing while they cleaned the floor. His Ferengi heart told him to fire them, make them live on their own, but his own heart couldn't do it, he wasn't that strong. Never let family get in the way, the rules said, but who cared about rules? He could hear his brother's disgusting laugh, Nog's giggles from across the saloon, and felt himself smiling too, shaking his head.

He was so distracted by his own thoughts that he only noticed the several pairs of steps coming close to him when they were already in sight. He placed the glasses down, the station's officers coming closer to the bar as he relented and allowed himself to sigh.

"I'm sorry, we are closed" he said, taking another glass and wiping it down. They were all there, probably wanting to laugh at his own failure, or scold him for ruining Nog's first change. Sisko, Bashir, O'Brien, Dax, Kira, even Odo. All staring at him. "Again, I'm closed."

"We know" Sisko said, making Quark looked at him extremely annoyed. This was all his fault, for forcing Quark to stay, for showing Nog what it meant to be Star Fleet. "Not a lot of profit in the last few days, right?"

"Are you all here to mock me? Be my guest, it's not like I have any dignity left" Quark said, raising his hands in defeat and putting the cloth and glass away. "Do you want anything? Apparently it's on the house."

"Yes. Give us some clean cloths, some water and whatever else you use to clean this place" Dax said, a smirk on her face as she dropped a bunch of gold press latinum in front of him, his eyes widening. "This is for allowing us to help, Quark."

"Oh, be my guests!" he squealed out, throwing at them all the products he had, the officers catching them somewhat clumsily before he rushed around the bar with an excited grin. "Rom! Nog! Your friends are here to help!"

"Oh no" Nog mumbled as he and Rom walked closer to the group, but Sisko only winked at him and picked up the cloth nearest to him.

"Where do we start?" he asked, and for a second, Quark understood what Star Fleet was really about. Maybe Nog wasn't going to be in such bad shape after all.

And whatever was the reason for their help, either a good deed or their realization of how upset Quark was about the news, they never mentioned. They just helped Quark, the best they could, despite some of them hating every second of it.

At the very least, Quark knew he had some real friends.

And that someone would take care of Nog while he was away.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, Kudos, all loved!!!


End file.
